Skip to content. Skip to navigation
Navigation
Donate to the Department of Music
Announcements
Anthony Dean Griffey to Join Music Faculty as Artist-in-Residence We are delighted to welcome internationally renowned tenor Anthony Dean Griffey to our faculty this year as artist-in-residence. His affiliation with UNC-Chapel Hill adds to the strong reputation in the Arts which Carolina is building. During the year, Mr. Griffey will be coaching and teaching master classes to our voice students and to our Kenan Scholars’ cohort, working with chamber music students and UNC Opera students, and speaking in select academic classes.
Announcing the 2009-2010 Kenan Music Scholars The Music Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is delighted to announce the appointment of the following four Kenan Music Scholars set to enter the university in fall 2009. They will join our eight current Kenan Music Scholars in this exciting and innovative program.
More …

Music Department Faculty

Michael Votta

Michael Votta
Professor

Office: 215 Hill Hall
Email: mvotta@email.unc.edu
Phone: 919-962-5695

Michael Votta Jr. (Professor) is Director of University Wind Ensembles and teaches courses in conducting and orchestration at UNC. He is also Music Director of the North Carolina Wind Orchestra, a professional wind ensemble. Votta holds a D.M.A. in conducting from the Eastman School of Music (1986), where he served as Assistant Conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble and studied with Donald Hunsberger. A native of Michigan, Votta received a B.S. in Microbiology (1979), B.M. in Clarinet Performance (1979), M.M. in Conducting (1980) and M.M. in Clarinet Performance (1981) from the University of Michigan, where he studied conducting with H. Robert Reynolds.

Ensembles under his direction have received critical acclaim in the United States and Europe for their "exceptional spirit, verve and precision," their "sterling examples of innovative programming" and "the kind of artistry that is often thought to be the exclusive purview of top symphonic ensembles." His performances have been heard in broadcasts within the US, on Austrian National Radio (ORF), and Southwest German Television, and have been released internationally on the Primavera label. As an interpreter, he has been praised by numerous major composers including George Crumb, Christopher Rouse, Karel Husa, Olly Wilson, Barbara Kolb, Warren Benson, and Louis Andriessen for his performances of their works. Before his appointment at UNC, Votta held conducting positions at Duke University, Ithaca College, the University of South Florida, Miami University (Ohio) and Hope College.

He is the author of numerous articles on wind literature and conducting. His arrangements and editions for winds have been published by Warner Bros. Music and Ludwig Music, Inc., and have been performed and recorded by university and professional wind ensembles in the US, Europe and Japan. He is currently Editor of the College Band Directors National Association Journal, and has served as a member of the Executive Board of the International Society for the Investigation of Wind Music (IGEB), and as a State Chairman for CBDNA.

Votta maintains an active schedule as guest conductor and clinician in the US, and appeared in Europe and Israel. He has taught conducting seminars in the US and Israel, and has conducted and lectured at universities and conferences of numerous organizations including the College Band Directors National Association and state music educators conventions in New York, North Carolina, and Ohio.

As a clarinetist, Votta has performed as a soloist throughout the US and Europe. He performs regionally with the North Carolina Symphony and the Triangle Opera Theater. His solo and chamber music recordings are available on the Partridge and Albany labels.

Personal tools